Is vaping cannabis safer than smoking?

The topic of whether vaping is safer than smoking cannabis has more questions than answers. Depending on whom you ask, the answers will vary widely. Experienced users tend to prefer smoking cannabis in deep breaths compared to vaping, writes Joseph Lama. But is this the healthier way of consuming cannabis?

More people prefer vaping to smoking.

It’s all in the numbers. Researchers tend to think that vaping is safer than smoking. Although there is scant information regarding this topic in research, studies show that smoking has been on a declining trend in the last five years. WebMD states that the massive adoption of vaporizers has led to the rapid decline in adult smoking over the last two decades.

What is vaping?

Vaping is the act of heating cannabis without combustion. Since there is no burning, the heat is designed to produce the ingredients (e.g. THC and CBD) needed and present them to the user in the form of a mist (vapor) through the use of a vaporizer.

Smoking entails actual combustion of cannabis to activate the ingredients. This is the most common method of consuming cannabis.

Is vaping safer than smoking?

A typical cannabis user looks to consume the active ingredients that are present in the plant. How one gets them into their body is what defines their safety levels. According to this study, vaping is becoming increasingly more popular than smoking cannabis as people think it is safer.

Novice users prefer to vape because they have not become accustomed to taking deep breaths required when smoking. When vaping, one is able to control their intake through short, steady puffs.

Smokers argue that no matter how one prefers their sesh, the effect is the same and avoiding toxins such as tar, ammonia and carcinogens is tough either way. Researchers tend to disagree with this argument. Most vaporizers are designed to allow for inhalation without releasing toxins. Smoking causes respiratory issues and could be problematic to people seeking to use cannabis for medical purposes. The smoke can also be irritating to the lungs. Despite this, combusting marijuana is still the most common method of consuming cannabis.

Medical marijuana patients who seek rapid relief find that vaporizers are more effective and more efficient. By bringing out the active ingredients of cannabis without any combustion or smoke, vaporizers allow the user to get the kind of high they want fast, and in a cleaner and healthier way. Healthier in the sense that when vaping, the toxins from the plant are not transferred into the body, as opposed to what happens when one is smoking cannabis.

Does smoking cannabis really cause respiratory problems?

Research on this issue is inconclusive. There is no definitive proof to show that smoking cannabis causes respiratory problems or diseases like lung cancer. However, smoking cannabis has been linked to irritations on the mouth, throat and lungs. For novices,…

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